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COLUMBUS, Ohio, 31 August 2005. Srico was awarded a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to continue to pursue development for the U.S. Air Force of an ultra-high dynamic range modulated optical source based on a compact Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) intensity modulator.
Modulators, which are key components in optical communication and sensor networks, turn light on and off to encode the information being sent through the network.
During the SBIR Phase I preliminary development, Srico set a world-record 66 dB extinction ratio for an optical modulator, a ratio of about 4 million to 1. To achieve these results, the company used proprietary waveguide designs and innovative device fabrication processes. The design ensures that the dynamic range available is more than ten thousand times greater than what is obtainable from currently available commercial Mach-Zehnder modulators. The modulator device is capable of integration onto a larger optical chip containing 256 channels.
The breakthrough technology developed under this SBIR program will be used to develop commercial electro-optic modulator components with very high extinction ratio = 60 dB and low drive voltage that operate over a broad spectral range.
"The ultra-high dynamic range modulators will be a key addition to the company's modulator product portfolio," says Sri Sriram, president and founder of Srico. "This Air Force project is enabling Srico to develop a unique platform technology for surveillance activities in homeland security and defense, phased array and other radar, free space optical communications, satellite communications, mobile communications, sensor networks, and telecommunications networks."
Srico, which was established in 1990, specializes in integrated optical waveguide components and optoelectronic subsystems that dramatically improve signal transmission and electrical measurement in communication and sensor networks. Among the company's current product portfolio are electro-optic modulators, optical wavelength switches, analog fiber optic links, and photonic sensors that detect and measure electric field, current, and voltage. For more information, see www.srico.com.
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